In cellular network systems, particularly CDMA cellular networks, a mobile station may be in a dormant state, where the cellular network is aware of the mobile station on the system, but currently, there is no activity with the mobile station. In other words, the mobile station is registered with the cellular network, but in a dormant data session as no active communication sessions are taking place. An example of this is a mobile station that is registered and has been active in the cellular network, but is currently inactive without having powered off, such as a mobile station in a push-to-talk session, a mobile station awaiting a paging request, and the like.
In prior art CDMA cellular networks, Internet users may cause abnormally high paging rates by implementing malicious Internet Protocol (IP) scans that can overload the cellular network system. These malicious IP scans are often implemented to search for mobile stations in a dormant data session in order to reactivate them. The prior art is deficient in distinguishing these malicious users of the cellular network system from legitimate users.
There is a need, not met in the prior art, for a method of dormant data session reactivation. Accordingly, there is a significant need for an apparatus and method that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art outlined above.
Elements in the Figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the Figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms “first”, “second”, and the like herein, if any, are used inter alia for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. Moreover, the terms “front”, “back”, “top”, “bottom”, “over”, “under”, and the like in the Description and/or in the Claims, if any, are generally employed for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for comprehensively describing exclusive relative position. Any of the preceding terms so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that various embodiments of the invention described herein may be capable of operation in other configurations and/or orientations than those explicitly illustrated or otherwise described.